Ceiling board jack

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in ceiling board jacks and has for its primary object a device which is versatile and can assist in the placement of boards or panels on ceiling and wall construction. The combination comprising a ceiling board supporting frame and means for pivotally connecting said frame beneath ceiling joists capable of swinging upwardly to bring said boards in contact with ceiling joists for application thereto also suspension means driven in the lower surface of said joists for hingedly supporting said frame and an elevating leg for bringing said board in contact with the ceiling joist.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,910,421 Panneton Oct. 7, 1975 l5 l CEILING BOARD JACK Primary Examiner-Frank E. Werner [76] Inventor: Jean Panneton, 1085 Crescent Asslsmm Exammer c'eorge Abraham Dieppe, Duvernay, Laval. Quebec, Canada 57 ABSTRACT [22] Filed: 1974 The invention relates to new and useful improvenients [21] APPL No: 431,307 in ceiling boar d jacks and has for its prin ary object a device which IS versatile and can assist in the placement of boards or panels on ceiling and wall construc- U.S. r t i tion The ombination comprising a ceiling board up- [51] Int. Cl.- E04G 21/16 porting frame and means f pivotauy Connecting said [58] Field of Search 214/1 SW frame beneath ceiling joists Capable of Swinging wardly to bring said boards in contact with ceiling [56] References Clted joists for application thereto also suspension means UNITED STATES PATENTS driven in the lower surface of said joists for hingedly l 582l47 4/1926 Stanley .i 214/1 sw Supporting Said frame and an elevating leg for bringing 274 514 4 1956 Fisher said board in contact with the ceiling joist. 2.966 993 1/1961 Cooper ..2l4/1 SW 7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures US. Patent 0a. 7,1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,910,421

CEILING BOARD JACK The invention relates to new and useful improvements in ceiling board jacks and has for its primary object a device which is versatile and can assist in the placement of boards or panels on both ceiling and wall construction.

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a jack structure that can be easily adapted to apply boards in various locations such as rooms, halls, and confined spaces such as corridors and corners.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a jack which can be handled by a single person is very stable, rapidly set in place as the work progresses without the use of nails or other accessories.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a ceiling board jack for elevating and holding in place boards of various dimensions by providing an easily adjustable frame to panel size.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an easily foldable and collapsible ceiling board jack for displacement from one location to the other as the work progresses and for storing away when not in use. More specifically, the invention is a ceiling board jack for securing boards to frame members ofa ceiling, said jack comprising: a hanger shaft and means holding it steady with respect to the ceiling frame members and spaced from them; a board supporting frame having hook-like rigid straps fixed to and projecting from one of its ends and unattachedly straddling the shaft whereby to be removably supported thereon; a length adjustable leg made of telescoping upper and lower members and means pivoting the upper end of the upper leg member to the other end of the board supporting frame for pivotal movement about an axis transverse to the frame, and stop means at the other end of the board supporting frame to prevent a ceiling board thereon from sliding off. In use, the hanger shaft is first held steady by the holding means, the straps are hooked over the shaft, a board is placed on the frame which is then lifted close to the ceiling by straightening the pivoting leg with the straps and shaft acting as a hinge.

In one embodiment of the invention, the steadying means comprises: a further length-adjustable leg made of telescoping upper and lower members and manually operable means to adjust the length of this further leg and lock it in position; prongs fixed to and projecting laterally from the shaft to be applied against one of the ceiling frame members and means connecting the upper member of the further leg to the hanger shaft for pivotal movement about an axis generally transverse thereto and on the side of the shaft across theprongs. In this manner, as said manually operable means is actuated to extend the further leg and apply the prongs against the ceiling frame member, the position of the hanger shaft with respect to the ceiling frame becomes adjustable through the pivot means connecting the upper leg member and shaft.

In a further embodiment. the shaft is formed of telescoping inner and outer members and the steadying means comprises: two angle brackets secured on either of the inner and outer members at the free ends thereof, the brackets each having a flat element projecting away from the shaft to be applied on a ceiling frame member.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the jack in the process of lifting a board in place below the ceiling joists.

HO. 2 is a side elevation view showing the jack fully expanded in the process of applying the board to the joists.

FIG. 3 is a rear side elevation view of the jack shown with a board on the frame.

FIG. 4 is a top partial elevation showing a special application of the jack when applying a ceiling board in a corner.

FIG. 5 shows a top partial elevation of a special application of the jack when applying ceiling boards in confined spaces.

FIG. 6 is a partial elevation of the jack post showing the jack in upward position.

FIG. 7 is a partial elevation of the jack being released so as to draw the points out of the ceiling joists.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the hanger shaft showing the frame locking means and pivot for the jack post.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the pin clip for limiting the male jack post travel.

Referring now to the drawings wherein the reference characters denote corresponding parts of the structure.

The ceiling board jack 10 consists primarily of a telescopically and longitudinally expandable board frame 11 comprising a pair of telescopic members 13 and 14 made of suitable material with transversal supporting members 15 and angle bar end member 16 on which the ceiling board 12 buts before being elevated into place on the ceiling. Frame 11 has an upper end transversal member 17 provided with straps l8 shaped to the contour of the hanger shaft 19 on which the entire jack is suspended from. Hanger shaft 19 has two nailed like points 20 and 21, 21 being rigidly held to the hanger shaft 19 while the other one is slidable and both are held rigidly by nuts, screws and clamps thereon.

FIG. 8 shows an enlarged side elevation of a device in use when frame 11 is hung on hanger shaft 19 by means of straps 18 to prevent the frame from falling off said hanger shaft by means of a safety bar 26 slidable in guides 27 mounted on male member 13 of the telescopic pair of said frame 11. This Figure also shows a lug 28 as part of shaft 19 for pivotally suspending the jack telescopic post male member 31 by means of pin 29. FIGS. 3, 6 and 7 show jack post male member 31 sliding into female member 32 adjusted for the height of the ceiling, clip 33 having a pin 34 is introduced into the proper hole 35 to limit the downward travel of male member 31. Female member 32 has a rubber boot for adherence to the floor. FIG. 3 shows the jack being set-up for use. The height of the jack post is first adjusted by means of pin clip 33 into a hole of female jack member 32 on which rest the lower end of male member 31. The slidable collar 50 is then screwed on male member 31 at proper height by means of set screw 51 to facilitate operation of jack lever 39. Slidable safety and wedging collars 48 and 46 are released and permit member 31 freely to rise upon the action of jack lever 39 driving points 20 and 21 into the ceiling joist 9. Once points 20 and 21 are solidly anchored in the joist, collar 48 is locked on member 31 by means of set screw 49 and collar 46 is free on the same member. Tension springs 30 held by lugs 37 on member 31 and lugs 36 on the hanger shaft 19 are of equal tension and hold the hanger shaft 19 horizontally and act as a stabilizing agent once the points have been driven into the joist, frame member 11 is hung on the hanger shaft 19 by means of hinged straps 18 after the pair of telescopic frame members 13 and 14 have been adjusted for the length of ceiling board used they are locked in place by means of locking screw 61 and the board 12 is then laid on said frame abutting on end member 16 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. For application of the board 12 tothe ceiling, the leg 53 "is extended outwardly by rotating around pivot 56 mounted on the frame female member 14 and extending male telescoping leg member 55 till the board is practically in contact with, the ceiling joist and held rigidly in that position by means of locking screw 59 and nut 58 welded to the female telescoping leg member 54.

A rubber boot 57 on the end of leg member 55 prevents said leg from skidding maintaining a rigid vertical position. After the board has been applied to the ceiling, the jack must be displaced by releasing points 20 and 21 from the ceiling joist using the jack mechanism 38 in reverse by moving handle 47 fixed to collar 46 to the right, see FIG. 7; jack lever 39 is raised thereby lowcring collar 50 and driving post 31 downwards; the downward movement of male member 31 being limited by the slidably adjustable safety collar 48 and clip 33.

Jack lever 39 is pivotally held by slidable collar 50 on male leg member 31 and fulcrumed by means of a pin 41 on lever 40, said lever 40 pivotally. held by pin 42 on collar 45 welded or part of female leg member 32; we'dging collar 46 pivoted by pin 44 to link 43 similarly pinned on collars 45 at 42.

When working in confined locations such as hallways, or comers, the ceiling board jack may be provided with different hanger shafts as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows a hanger shaft 19 for suspending the ceiling board frame 11 in a corner where hanger shaft 19 is provided with the horizontal point 21 for driving in a wooden post 8 and the slidably adjustable point 20 driven into the ceiling joist 9 by the formerly described jack mechanism 38.

FIG. shows the application of the ceiling board jack when it is impossible to drive the points into the ceiling when ceiling joist are not available or are of dimensions which make it impracticle to drive points into them. Hanger shaft 22 in this case is suspended from wooden posts 8, said hanger shaft consisting of a pair of telescopic members, a female member 22 and male member 23, the ends of which are welded to Plate 24 nailed to the wooden posts and the Figure shows the straps 18 of the frame 11 resting on the said hanger shaft member 22.

When not in use, the unit is dismantled by removing frame 11 from hanger, shaft 19 by withdrawing bar 26., unlocking screw 61 permitting frame members 13 and 14 to collapse and locking them in that position by the same locking means 61, elevating leg 53 is shortened by unscrewing 59 thereby permitting male member to be pushed into female member 54 and folded against the frame 11 and held together by clip 25 mounted on the frame 11. The points having been withdrawn from the ceiling by the jack mechanism 38 operating in reverse, jack post male member 31 is drawn into female member 32 and the unit is easily transported and stored away.

Thus there has been described an effective jack structure for placing various size boards on ceilings of rooms, hallways or difficult corner locations, the structure itself providing a good supporting surface for more fragile panels commonly used for finishing ceiling surfaces. This structure is compact once folded and is dismantled and set-up and stored while not'in use.

I claim:

1. A ceiling board jack for securing boards to frame members of a ceiling, said jack comprising:

a. a hanger shaft and means holding said shaft steady with respect to said ceiling frame members and spaced therefrom, said shaftrsteadying means comprising:

upper and lower members and manually operable means to adjust the length of said first leg and to lock it into position,

2. prongs fixed to and projecting laterally from said shaft to be applied against one of said ceiling,

frame members, and 3. means connecting the upper member of said first leg to said hanger shaft for pivotal movement about an axis generally perpendicular thereto and on the side of said shaft across said prongs,

4. whereby as said manually operable means is ac-. tuated to lengthen said first leg and apply said prongs, against saidrceiling frame member, the

position of said hanger shaft with respect to said 1 ceiling frame becomes adjusted through said pivot means connecting said upper leg member and shaft;

b. a board supporting frame having hook-like rigid straps fixed to and projecting from one end of said board supporting frame and unattachedly straddling said shaft whereby to be removably supported thereon;

. a second length-adjustable leg made of telescoping upper and lower members and means pivoting the upper end of said upper leg member to the other end of said board supporting frame for pivotal movement about an axistransverse to said board supporting frame; and

d. stop means at said other end of said frame to prevent a ceiling board thereon from sliding off,

whereby in use said hanger shaft is first held steady by said holding means, said straps are hooked over said shaft, a board is placed on said frame which is then lifted close to said ceiling by straightening said pivoting leg with said straps and shaft acting as a hinge.

2. A jack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pivot connecting means includes resilient means tending to hold said shaft perpendicular with respect to said further leg.

3. A jack as claimed in claim 1,,wherein one of said prongs is removably mounted on said shaft and a further prong projects axially from and at one end of said shaft to be applied against a surface perpendicular to said ceiling.

4. A jack as claimed in claim 1, including means on and beneath said board-supporting frame to prevent undesired removal of said straps from saidshaft.

S. A jack as claimed in claim 4, wherein said removal preventing means comprises safety bars and means on said board-supporting frame to allow sliding of said bars toward said shaft on the side thereof across said straps to prevent removal thereof from said hanger shaft. 7

6. A jack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said manually operable means to adjust the length of said first leg comprises: a manually operable lever pivotally conl. a first length-adjustable leg made of telescoping nected at one end to said first leg upper member and a connecting link pivotally connected at one end to said manually operable lever intermediate its ends and pivotally connected at the other end to said lower member of said first leg whereby actuation of said manually operable lever causes reciprocation of said first leg upper member.

7. A ceiling board jack for securing boards to frame members of a ceiling, said jack comprising:

a. a hanger shaft;

b. means holding said shaft steady with respect to said ceiling frame members and spaced therefrom said shaft stcadying means comprising:

1. first and second telescoping sections, each section having a free end,

2. a first flat plate fixed on the free end of said first section,

3. a second flat plate fixed on the free end of said second section,

4. each flat plate having a portion projecting radially outwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis of said shaft,

5. each such portion including means for securing said shaft to a wooden member;

0. a board supporting frame and means pivoting one end of said board supporting frame to said shaft; d. a length-adjustable leg having relatively movable upper and lower members and means pivoting the upper end of said upper leg member to the other end of said board supporting frame;

c. stop means at said other end of said frame to prevent a ceiling board thereon from sliding off, whereby in use said hanger shaft is first held steady by said holding means, and a board is placed on said frame which is then lifted close to a ceiling. 

1. A ceiling board jack for securing boards to frame members of a ceiling, said jack comprising: a. a hanger shaft and means holding said shaft steady with respect to said ceiling frame members and spaced therefrom, said shaft steadying means comprising:
 1. a first length-adjustable leg made of telescoping upper and lower members and manually operable means to adjust the length of said first leg and to lock it into position,
 2. prongs fixed to and projecting laterally from said shaft to be applied against one of said ceiling frame members, and
 3. means connecting the upper member of said first leg to said hanger shaft for pivotal movement about an axis generally perpendicular thereto and on the side of said shaft across said prongs,
 4. whereby as said manually operable means is actuated to lengthen said first leg and apply said prongs against said ceiling frame member, the position of said hanger shaft with respect to said ceiling frame becomes adjusted through said pivot means connecting said upper leg member and shaft; b. a board supporting frame having hook-like rigid straps fixed to and projecting from one end of said board supporting frame and unattachedly straddling said shaft whereby to be removably supported thereon; c. a second length-adjustable leg made of telescoping upper and lower members and means pivoting the upper end of said upper leg member to the other end of said board supporting frame for pivotal movement about an axis transverse to said board supporting frame; and d. stop means at said other end of said frame to prevent a ceiling board thereon from sliding off, whereby in use said hanger shaft is first held steady by said holding means, said straps are hooked over said shaft, a board is placed on said frame which is then lifted close to said ceiling by straightening said pivoting leg with said straps and shaft acting as a hinge.
 2. prongs fixed to and projecting laterally from said shaft to be applied against one of said ceiling frame members, and
 2. A jack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pivot connecting means includes resilient means tending to hold said shaft perpendicular with respect to said further leg.
 2. a first flat plate fixed on the free end of said first section,
 3. a second flat plate fixed on the free end of said second section,
 3. A jack as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said prongs is removably mounted on said shaft and a further prong projects axially from and at one end of said shaft to be applied against a surface perpendicular to said ceiling.
 3. means connecting the upper member of said first leg to said hanger shaft for pivotal movement about an axis generally perpendicular thereto and on the side of said shaft across said prongs,
 4. whereby as said manually operable means is actuated to lengthen said first leg and apply said prongs against said ceiling frame member, the position of said hanger shaft with respect to said ceiling frame becomes adjusted through said pivot means connecting said upper leg member and shaft; b. a board supporting frame having hook-like rigid straps fixed to and projecting from one end of said board supporting frame and unattachedly straddling said shaft whereby to be removably supported thereon; c. a second length-adjustable leg made of telescoping upper and lower members and means pivoting the upper end of said upper leg member to the other end of said board supporting frame for pivotal movement about an axis transverse to said board supporting frame; and d. stop means at said other end of said frame to prevent a ceiling board thereon from sliding off, whereby in use said hanger shaft is first held steady by said holding means, said straps are hooked over said shaft, a board is placed on said frame which is then lifted close to said ceiling by straightening said pivoting leg with said straps and shaft acting as a hinge.
 4. A jack as claimed in claim 1, including means on and beneath said board-supporting frame to prevent undesired removal of said straps from said shaft.
 4. each flat plate having a portion projecting radially outwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis of said shaft,
 5. each such portion including means for securing said shaft to a wooden member; c. a board supporting frame and means pivoting one end of said board supporting frame to said shaft; d. a length-adjustable leg having relatively movable upper and lower members and means pivoting the upper end of said upper leg member to the other end of said board supporting frame; e. stop means at said other end of said frame to prevent a ceiling board thereon from sliding off, whereby in use said hanger shaft is first held steady by said holding means, and a board is placed on said frame which is then lifted close to a ceiling.
 5. A jack as claimed in claim 4, wherein said removal preventing means comprises safety bars and means on said board-supporting frame to allow sliding of said bars toward said shaft on the side thereof across said straps to prevent removal thereof from said hanger shaft.
 6. A jack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said manually operable means to adjust the length of said first leg comprises: a manually operable lever pivotally connected at one end to said first leg upper member and a connecting link pivotally connected at one end to said manually operable lever intermediate its ends and pivotally connected at the other end to said lower member of said first leg whereby actuation of said manually operable lever causes reciprocation of said first leg upper member.
 7. A ceiling board jack for securing boards to frame members of a ceiling, said jack comprising: a. a hanger shaft; b. means holding said shaft steady with respect to said ceiling frame members and spaced therefrom said shaft steadying means comprising: 